The Witch
by Emi-Lynn
Summary: A surprise visitor causes an upset in the new family's lives. Story 6 in the 'And a Little Child Shall Lead Them' series. Spoilers for Season 9's Devil's Triangle and Season 10's Devil's Trifecta.
1. Chapter 1

The Witch

"Morning, Gibbs."

"Morning, George." Gibbs nodded to the clerk at the local grocery store as he put his basket up on the conveyer belt.

"You're shopping early." George reached in the basket to pull out the first item and froze when he realized he had a bag of kale in his hand. "You shopping for a friend?"

Gibbs grinned at the expression on the elderly man's face. "Been eating him out of house and home, figured I'd better replace some of what I've been eating."

"Kale?" He kept pulling items out to ring up. "Spinach? Cabbage? Pineapple? This is more greens than you've bought in all the years I've known you. What the heck is your friend making?"

"Margaritas." Gibbs checked the total on the register and pulled out enough cash to cover it. "Or something pretty close to it. Thanks, George, see you later."

George watched as Gibbs picked up his bag of groceries and sailed out of the store, whistling as he went out the door. Once Gibbs was gone, George turned to the cashier at the next register. "Dorothy, you ever make a margarita with spinach?"

"Spinach?" Dorothy put her hands on her hips as she gave him the eye. "George, have you been into the booze already this morning?"

-NCIS-

Tim was just putting the ham slices in a skillet when he heard Gibbs' car pull into the driveway. "Tiana, hurry up, Papa's here."

That got her up and by the time Gibbs walked in the door, she was bouncing down the hallway. "Papa."

"Hey, Shortstuff." Gibbs dropped his bag on the island and scooped Tia up for her morning kiss before setting her in her seat and accepting a cup of coffee from McGee. "Thanks."

A bowl of beaten eggs was sitting on the counter and Tim pointed to it. "Scrambled all right?

"Works for me." Gibbs watched McGee as he worked the two skillets. "If we ever need anyone to go undercover as a short order cook, you're all set."

"Better than being a waiter." He flipped over the ham and stirred the eggs before turning to the refrigerator for salsa and sour cream. By then the eggs were done and Tim dished up three plates, cutting up the ham for Tiana and adding the salsa and sour cream to her eggs.

Gibbs watched in amusement as she dove into her breakfast before adding a spoon of the salsa to his own eggs. "Was going to mention it last night – nice to see she's not a picky eater."

"Never did the whole jarred baby food routine when she was little, so she was always introduced to new foods. She'd rather eat off the adult's menu in most restaurants."

"Nothing wrong with that. Probably healthier, too."

"I think so. Pretty funny to see the reaction when she wants calamari."

Tia smiled and nodded, licking some sour cream off her fingers. "It's yummy with mary-anna sauce."

Gibbs had to think for a minute. The brock-o-licki the night before had been easier. "Marinara sauce?"

"Yep, that." Tia shared a grin with her Papa. Gibbs was still smiling when he left for the Yard.

-NCIS-

The smile didn't last long. Giving no warning, Tony jumped to his feet. "I'm... I'm going to go see Abby, Boss." Ziva was two steps behind him, both at almost a dead run. Before Gibbs could figure out what had sent them flying, a familiar voice came around the corner.

"Where's Chucky?"

"Diane, what are you doing here?"

She stood in front of her ex-husband's desk, arms crossed. "I was at his apartment, but someone else is living there and when I called here, I was told he's out on leave. Where is he, Jethro?"

"Out on leave."

His deadpan answer did nothing to improve her mood. "Not funny, Jethro."

"Not any of your concern, Diane. Leave him alone."

"Well, aren't you all ferocious protecting your little lamb. You!" She swung around and pointed as Dorneget came around the corner. "What kind of leave is Agent McGee on?"

"Bereavement leave, ma'am." He turned to Gibbs. "I'm sorry, Agent Gibbs, but she scares me even more than you do."

Gibbs just rolled his eyes. "Get out of here, Dorneget."

Diane instantly quieted. "Bereavement leave? Jethro, who died?"

"Leave him alone, Diane."

"Jethro, he was very kind to me when I needed a friend. I'd like to return the favor."

At that moment Ducky came from the back elevator, looking over a stack of photographs and not noticing that Gibbs was in the middle of something. "Jethro, if you see Timothy this afternoon, would you give him these pictures for me? Juliette thought our lovely Tiana might like a memento of our first tea."

Ducky finally looked up just as Diane grabbed the photos from his hands. "Oh dear, my timing appears to be lacking somewhat today."

"Ya think, Duck?" Gibbs snatched the pictures back from Diane, but she'd seen the little girl, leaving him very little choice. "His ex just died, now he's a single dad."

"Oh, that poor man."

Gibbs cut her off before she could say anymore. "He was assigned to protect you and you took advantage of his kindness. You're not going to cause him any more problems, is that understood?"

She hesitated and he pointed a finger. "Is that understood?" Diane huffed and stormed out of the bullpen. Gibbs waited until the elevator left with her on it before calling down to Abby's lab.

"Tell those two chickens to get their butts back up here and get to work."


	2. Chapter 2

McGee sighed and tried to ignore the sales clerk. Even since he and Tiana had walked into the furniture store, she'd been flirting with him. A voice inside his head that sounded suspiciously like DiNozzo kept reminding him that some women actually hunted for single fathers, but he had no interest in the woman despite her double-d chest and blonde hair.

Ignoring her once again, Tim bent down to Tia. "What do you think, Sweetheart?"

One sectional was modern and sleek, low to the ground with chrome legs and black leather. The other was slightly bulkier with plush, taupe colored cushions and pillows over a black base. He had his favorite, but wanted her to be part of the process. Tia immediately pointed to the two-toned set. "Papa will like that one."

It was the one Tim had already decided on, so he didn't correct Tia's assumption that they were choosing it strictly based on what Gibbs would want. The mention of 'Papa' also stopped the saleswoman in her tracks, which was a plus.

"All right, we'll take it." He pointed to the sign promoting their free, same day delivery. "And I want it delivered today."

Tia nodded very seriously. "It's a surprise for Papa."

The clerk gave a strained smile. "I'm sure he'll be very happy with it."

-NCIS-

Diane ignored the stack of messages and files on her desk as she logged into her computer. She knew it was too early for McGee's change of address to show up in any of the IRS records, so she went straight to the Federal Employee Database.

-NCIS-

"Well?"

The Yeoman shook his head. "I'm sorry, Sir. NCIS files are very secure. I wasn't able to determine any details about your son's leave status."

Admiral McGee glared at the young man that had been assigned to him for almost a year. "You're telling me that you have nothing?"

"All I was able to find was a change in his life insurance."

That made the Admiral sit up. "His life insurance? What did he change?"

"He doubled it."

"Who is the beneficiary?"

"I was not able to determine that, Sir."

"Keep at it, find me some answers. Dismissed." When he was alone, the Admiral picked up the phone, then slowly set it back down. "Damn it, Timothy, what is going on?"

-NCIS-

The charity truck had just left with his old sofa when the truck from the furniture store backed into the driveway. It took the driver and his helper several trips to bring in all the pieces of the large, curved sectional sofa. One end had a chaise that opened up for storage, but father and daughter found the curve to be their favorite stop. Extra deep with an assortment of pillows.

Once dinner was simmering away in the crock pot Tim snagged the remote and they snuggled in for an afternoon of cartoons. After the stress of dealing with the will, Gladys and Tia's reaction to her mother's car, Tim decided they deserved a lazy day. Even Jethro got into the act. He wasn't allowed up on the furniture, but he laid down right up against the side, his head resting on Tim's foot.

-NCIS-

The sound of a car pulling into the driveway made Tim look up and he groaned as he recognized the woman behind the wheel. Tia turned at the sound.

"Daddy?"

"Shh, Baby. We're going to be real quiet and maybe she'll go away." Tim pulled Tia closer against him and ignored the knock at the side door. It was easy, since that door led into the laundry room. She knocked twice before moving away. Unfortunately, she walked around to the front door and started knocking even harder.

"Chucky, I know you're in there."

"Damn it." Tim muttered under his breath as he scooted out from under Tiana and stood. When he opened the door, Diane plowed into him. Being a gentleman, he stepped back, but he didn't hide his annoyance. "Diane, what do you want?"

"Is that any way to talk to a lady?"

"The case is long over, go home."

She smiled at him and walked further into the living room, heading for the sofa. Tim caught her arm and steered her towards the kitchen. "I just bought that sofa, you've not sitting on it."

He plunked her down on one of the stools at the island and circled around to stand on the other side, leaning heavily on the edge. "Why are you here, Mrs. Sterling?"

"Can't I come see a friend?"

"Friend? Since when have we been friends? You've gone out of your way to harass and belittle me since the first time you laid eyes on me."

"Now, that's not entirely true."

Tim snorted as he crossed his arms over his chest.

-NCIS-

Tiana was sitting on the sofa, her attention divided between the dancing fish on the television and the strange woman arguing in the kitchen. Her daddy's phone started to buzz and she recognized the picture that came up on the screen. She picked it up and pushed the button just like she'd seen her father do, then she started whispering.

"Papa, there's a witch in the kitchen and she's yelling at Daddy."

-NCIS-

Gibbs debated calling McGee and giving him a heads up about Diane looking for him and the request from Cybercrimes was the perfect excuse. His eyes widened at who answered the phone.

_~Papa, there's a witch in the kitchen and she's yelling at Daddy.~_

"A witch?" Gibbs was already on his feet, grabbing his keys and his weapon. "Does the witch have red hair?"

_~Yep.~_

"I'm on my way."


	3. Chapter 3

**a/n - I hope you guys had a good weekend becuase mine SUCKED. Been working without the special mats to stand on to protect your knees and back this last week so I ended up in urgent care Saturday morning with a knee that was all swollen and unable to support me. Now I'm hobling around with a cane and a heavy duty knee brace. Even had to get adaptive gear for the bathroom. So not fun.**

* * *

"Oh, come on, admit it. You need my help."

Tim stared at her incredulously. "No, I don't."

"How can you know anything about raising children? You're still a child yourself."

"What? You think you know anything about me? About my life?"

"I know more than you think. I know you never married the mother, you've never even lived together." Eyes flashing, she waited, expecting him to buckle and tell her everything. She was met with icy silence before he started speaking. There was no mistaking the fury in his tone.

"Excuse me, you've been checking up on me?"

"Somebody needed to."

"Get out."

"Oh, come on, Chucky."

"No." He'd been pacing before but now he stepped into her personal space. "You can insult me all you want, Lady, but my relationship with my daughter is off-limits. Now get out."

"You heard him, Diane."

They both turned to find Gibbs standing in the doorway that led to the utility room and the side porch.

-NCIS-

Gibbs wasted no time getting from the Yard to McGee's place. Diane's car in the driveway next to the Lexus meant that he had to park on the street, but that allowed him to arrive unnoticed by the arguing adults. Tiana, however, waved to him from the window. He held his finger up to his lips before unlocking the door and letting himself inside. He hadn't arrived early enough to hear what Diane had said to McGee, but since he'd never heard that level of anger in Tim, it had to be bad.

"You heard him, Diane."

He smirked at the look of surprise on Diane's face, but the look of gratitude on Tim's made him even madder at Diane. Before he could say anything else, Tia came running up to him, arms out.

"Papa!"

Her joyful greeting made him smile and he scooped her up with a kiss. "How's my good girl?"

Diane's eyes narrowed. "Oh, this is too..."

Before she could finish that thought, Gibbs handed Tiana over to McGee. "Call Johnson, they need your input on the case." Two seconds later he was hustling Diane out the door, Jethro the dog right behind them. He didn't stop until they were in the driveway and then he turned her to face him. "What is your problem? Things still not going so good with Victor? You husband hunting again?"

"That's a terrible thing to say."

"Is it true?"

"No." But she'd hesitated long enough and Gibbs pointed a finger at her.

"Ah ha!" Over her shoulder he saw Jethro lifting his leg on her front tire and smirked. "Leave him alone, Diane. He and Tiana are off-limits as far as you're concerned."

Diane saw the smirk, the same expression she'd come to hate during their marriage. "In other words, stay out of your way? That little girl isn't Kelly, Jethro."

"Go home, Diane, just go home."

She knew how much she'd hurt him the moment she'd opened her mouth. "Jethro, I..."

"Go home."

Once she was in her car and backing out of the driveway, Gibbs bent down to scratch Jethro's ears. "Good boy."

Returning inside, he found McGee in the kitchen, just finishing his call with Johnson. Tim looked up and explained. "Cybercrimes is explaining our findings to the commander of the Army base that's the next on the list. The Army's not happy that we solved the hacking thefts so quick and they want don't want us to wait to make the arrests. They want us to arrest the few lackeys we can tie into it now."

"Instead of waiting until they attack the Depot and arresting all of them?"

"Yeah, so Johnson wants me there for the conference call in MTAC this afternoon. Apparently, since I'm an agent and they're just nerds, it will have more of an impact. It should only take about twenty minutes."

"Sounds good." Gibbs looked down at Tia. "How'd you like to sit at my desk and color while Daddy talks to the Army?"

Her head bounced up and down before she ran downstairs to get the backpack of art supplies from Aunt Abby.

-NCIS-

Gibbs sat at his desk with Tiana on his lap, coloring pictures for all her aunts and uncles. They'd driven in separately, but Tim had given him an odd look as they were walking in and Gibbs knew eventually they'd have to talk. For now he was enjoying the little girl as she chattered about the picture she was drawing.

His ears still burning, Tobias Fornell arrived at NCIS looking for answers. He signed in and went straight up to the bullpen, looking for Gibbs, talking even before he rounded the corner. "Damn it, Jethro, what is our ex-wife screeching about now? Well, hello, who is this?"

The expression on Fornell's face made Gibbs feel a little better, a mix between his usual exasperation and embarrassment at swearing in front of a child. Gibbs smiled slightly as he made the introduction. "This is Tiana Caitlin McGee."

"McGee has a kid? When did that happen and what is she doing here?"

Tiana looked up from her artwork. "Mommy's in heaven now, so I live with Daddy." She leaned forward and whispered to Fornell. "Guess what?"

Fornell was instantly smitten and matched her movements and tone. "What?"

"There was a witch at our house today."

"A witch?" Pieces falling into place, he looked up at Gibbs. "Diane?"

"Yep."

With a new adult to talk to, Tia kept going. "She was mean to Daddy, but Jethro peed on her car. It was funny." Story told, she returned her attention to her coloring while Fornell struggled not to laugh as he looked at Gibbs.

"Really? You old dog, I've never thought to try that."

Gibbs rolled his eyes and Tia giggled. "Not Papa Jethro, doggie Jethro." She looked up at Gibbs and grinned. "He's silly."

"Yes, he is." Gibbs planted a quick kiss on her forehead before turning back to the grinning FBI agent.

"So Diane's the wicked witch? I like this kid."

-NCIS-

Tim arrived from his call in MTAC just as Fornell asked about Diane being the wicked witch. Deciding he didn't want to know, he chose a quick exit. "All done, you ready to go home?"

"Almost." Tia climbed down and went around the room, putting drawings on several of the desks. "Is Papa coming for dinner?"

"I hope so." Tim looked directly at Gibbs. "Otherwise, we're going to have a lot of leftovers."

Message received, Gibbs nodded to Tim before telling Tiana he'd be right behind them.


	4. Chapter 4

**a/n - short, but needed to stand alone.**

* * *

True to his word, Gibbs arrived only about twenty minutes after Tim and Tiana were home, carrying a large bone. "Here you go, boy." Doggie Jethro woofed his appreciation and took his treasure to his bed to start gnawing on it.

Dinner was a hearty affair of a bean soup that used up the last of the ham and a large pan of cornbread. Again, Gibbs was amazed to see Tiana eat what was put in front of her. "Is there anything she won't eat?"

"Processed foods." Tim grinned as he explained further. "Frozen pizza or the boxed macaroni with the powdered cheese – yeah, good luck getting her to eat those. She's got to be one step away from starving before she'll even touch them. Your cowboy steaks, though, she'd love that."

Tia took a big bite of her cornbread. "Yummy, I love steak."

Gibbs reached over and wiped the butter off the happy little girl's nose. "I'll have to remember that."

After dinner was bath time. Gibbs cleaned up in the kitchen, loading the dishwasher as he listened to Tim and Tiana singing about a rubber ducky. Dressed in her pajamas, hair loosely twisted around her head, Tia bounced back out and waited for her father next to the recliner. Gibbs leaned on the wall, listening as Pete the Cat lost his buttons, Tia pointing out the words she recognized. Eventually, she quieted, her thumb next to, but not in her mouth. Finally the last page was read and they closed the book.

"You ready to go to sleep?"

Tiana nodded as she yawned, so Tim set the book down before standing up with her. They walked over to Gibbs for his goodnight hug and kiss.

"Night-night, Papa. See you in the morning."

Gibbs pressed a kiss on her forehead. "Good night, Sweetpea." He followed them down the hall and fondly watched as Tim tucked her into bed before helping her choose three toys to sleep with. The stuffed penguin, frog and teddy bear were the chosen bed partners of the night.

Tim bent down and kissed her one last time before turning on her rainbow nightlight. "Night, Baby."

"Night, Daddy. Love you."

"Love you, too." Tim stood and quietly padded out of the room, closing the door part way. He smiled at Gibbs before returning to the kitchen. Pretty much everything was done and he turned in surprise to look at Gibbs.

Gibbs just grinned and shrugged. All that was left for Tim was to divide up what was left of the soup into plastic containers to freeze. Two future meals were tucked into the freezer, ready for a night when he didn't feel like cooking with just enough left for a lunch which he packed up for Gibbs.

"Appreciate it." Gibbs was eyeballing the last piece of cornbread and Tim laughed as he wrapped it up.

"There, that should give you a decent lunch tomorrow." Tim poured two cups of coffee and they retreated to the living room, Gibbs finally sitting down on the new sofa for the first time. It was comfortable, but he still felt guilty.

"I really didn't mean to make you go out and buy a new one."

Tim closed his eyes briefly as he leaned back. "It wasn't just that. I really needed a bigger sofa." He sensed that Gibbs was working up to something, so he opened his eyes and watched the other man.

Gibbs hesitated, then shook his head. "If I'm under foot too much you have the right to tell me to butt out, you know."

Suspicious, Tim watched him closely. "Diane got to you even more than she got to me."

Gibbs shrugged, but didn't answer.

Knowing where this was coming from, Tim leaned forward and rested his hand on Gibbs' arm. "I love watching you with Tiana and your support, your presence in our lives, is something I've come to rely on very much. More than I've ever relied on anyone."

Knowing that he had Gibbs' complete attention, Tim took a deep breath. "Things are changing between us, Jethro. I know it can't change things on the job, but here at home, I'd like to see where it goes."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

A teenager came barreling down the road, burning rubber with the stereo full blast, waking Tia and she started to cry. Tim squeezed Gibbs' arm as he stood, giving the older man a few minutes to think undisturbed.

The loud sounds had frightened her, so Tim brought Tia back to the living room and sat in their favorite spot with her on his lap, rocking her back to sleep. Not really fully awake, she reached out and found Gibbs' hand, tugging him closer. By the time the three of them had settled, Tim was leaning against Gibbs, Tia draped over both of them. Tim looked over his shoulder at Gibbs, worried that the older man might be uncomfortable, but he looked very peaceful. Confident that he hadn't pushed too far, Tim let his head drop back and enjoyed the sensation of being surrounded by those he cared about.

Gibbs watched as first Tiana, then Tim, apparently drifted off. The neighborhood had once again quieted down and the only sound was the snoring dog in the kitchen The last one awake, he thought about what Tim had said and admitted what was in his own heart, whispering. "Me too."

Nestled against him, Tim smiled, but didn't open his eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

Feeling rested and contented, Gibbs opened his eyes without moving. He was nestled in the curve of the sofa, Tim next to him, Tiana spread out over the both of them. Smiling Gibbs checked on the time as Tim opened his eyes.

"Time to go?"

"Yeah, if I want to be wearing different clothes when we report to the SecNav this morning." Reports had been given on the hacking end of the attacks yesterday, but the investigation into the physical robberies was still ongoing. "I'll probably be at the Yard all day but if you have any trouble, just call me."

"I will, but we should be fine. Dinner at 18.00 all right?"

"Sounds good." The two men worked together to slide Tia all the way onto Tim without waking her so Gibbs could stand up. "Anything you need me to pick up at the store?"

Tim shook his head. "It's okay, we're doing big shopping this morning. I've only got a week of leave left so I want to get some extra food cooked up and in the freezer."

"Makes sense." After Tim's comment the day before about the left-overs if Gibbs didn't show up, he'd had a moment of slight concern when he'd seen the large pot of soup, but the plan was a smart one. He brushed a hand over Tiana's head, then Tim's before gathering his lunch and creeping out the door.

-NCIS-

"You having fun back there, Sweetheart?" Their first stop had been to pick up some fun educational DVD's for the Lexus and Tia had been practicing her sign language on the way back from the grocery store.

"Mommy picked a good car."

Tim felt a lump in his throat and wondered how long that would last. "She sure did, Sweetie. She's taking good care of us."

They turned onto their street and saw a familiar car sitting in front of their house. "Oh oh, Daddy."

"I see her, Baby." Tim parked and took a deep breath before stepping out of the car.

Diane had climbed out of her freshly washed car the moment she saw them. She was holding a baking pan, covered in foil. "I'm sorry, we got off on the wrong foot yesterday."

"Mrs. Sterling, I'm not sure you have a right foot."

She winced at his bluntness. "Okay, I deserved that, but I brought mac and cheese with hot dogs. That should count for something. You like mac and cheese, don't you, Honey?" Diane pulled back the foil to show Tiana the food.

Tiana was not impressed by the bright orange color or the oily red circles of hot dog slices scattered over the top. "I like Daddy's."

Diane faltered a bit. "Doesn't this look like Daddy's?"

The dish was tilted more towards her and Tia wrinkled her nose as she shook her head. "It's a funny color."

Amused to no end by the look on Diane's face, Tim couldn't quite keep the smirk off his face. "Sorry, I make mine from scratch with three cheeses and heavy cream."

While Diane was staring at him, Tim handed Tiana a package of paper towels. "Here, you carry this for Daddy, okay?" While she toddled up to the porch, Tim grabbed the two bags of groceries. He knew Diane would follow them, but he decided to have a little fun with it.

-NCIS-

"Hey, Boss, you want us to bring you back something?" Tony pulled on his coat as Ziva waited for him. "We're trying that new place that opened up down the block from the main entrance."

"Nope, brought my lunch." Gibbs smirked at the shocked expression as he stood and sauntered into the break room. A crowd was gathered around the refrigerator as one of Balboa's men held the door open.

"Are you sure it's his?"

"It's got his name on it."

"Gibbs never brown bags it. I don't think he ever actually eats."

"Of course he eats. Everybody eats."

Gibbs reached past them to retrieve the bag with his name written on it in bold block letters. The agents scattered, but then circled back around as Gibbs walked over to the microwave on the counter.

As if it were an everyday occurrence, Gibbs warmed up the soup and the cornbread before carrying it all to one of the tables. Several of the agents in the room looked at Tony standing in the doorway, but he was just as surprised as the rest of them and all he could do was shrug.

Pointing at the newspaper one of them had tucked under his arm, Gibbs casually spoke. "You done with that?" When the man wordlessly nodded, Gibbs took it and spread it out on the table, thoroughly enjoying the silent uproar he'd caused as he slowly ate his soup and cornbread.

-NCIS-

Once inside, Tim set the bag down and helped Tia up onto her stool at the island. "You ready for a snack while Daddy gets dinner started?"

While he talked, McGee started unloading the groceries onto the counter. When Tia nodded enthusiastically, he opened the hummus and scooped some into a small bowl. Carrot slices were added and the whole thing was set in front of Tiana. Diane started to comment, but Tia happily dug into what was obviously a familiar treat for the little girl.

Instead, Diane watched in amazement as Tim pulled out a cutting board and a long knife and expertly started to butterfly a boneless leg of lamb. The meat was moved to a large glass pan before Tim washed his hands and started mixing up a garlic and rosemary marinate. The question was blurted out before Diane had even thought it through. "She'll actually eat that? At her age?"

McGee opened his mouth, but before he could answer, Tiana's head bobbed in agreement. "It's yummy. Lots of garlic, Daddy."

Tim gave her a snappy salute, making her giggle, before adding another spoonful of minced garlic to the mix.

Diane had been watching, not only the food preparation, but the interaction between father and daughter. "You really know what you're doing."

Since the bowl of hummus had been practically licked clean, Tim lifted Tia out of her chair and sent her off to play before turning to Diane with a serious expression. "We knew Grace was dying before Tiana was even born. I wanted Tia to have every possible moment with her mother, but I have always been a part of my daughter's life."

After giving the stubborn woman a moment to absorb what he was telling her, Tim handed back the casserole she'd brought. "Go home, Mrs. Sterling. Go home and fix whatever is wrong in your life and stop worrying about mine."

Diane stared at the countertop for a minute before looking up at him, her eyes moist. "You're right. You're absolutely right."

Tia returned to the kitchen with the last drawing she'd done the day before, this one showed three stick figures holding hands, two tall and a short one in the middle. Three more figures were along the top edge of the page. She showed it to Diane. "This is me and Daddy and Papa."

The little girl was very serious and Diane knew this was important to her. She pointed to the last three figures. "Who are they?"

"That's Mommy and Mommy Shannon and Sissy Kelly. They're angels in heaven. They watch over us."

Behind them Tim was stunned. He wracked his brains, but only remembered one mention of Kelly to Tia and none that mentioned Shannon by name. He started to say something but Tia wasn't done.

"You made Papa sad yesterday. I don't want Papa sad anymore."

Despite her best intentions, Diane felt the tears threaten to spill over. "You're right, Sweetie. Papa deserves to be happy. I'm very sorry that I've been making him sad." Surprisingly, Diane realized that she really meant it as she turned, tucking the pan firmly under her arm. McGee was watching them very closely.

"You were right, Tim. You were totally right and I'm going to do something about it right now." Diane gave a nod, more to herself that to him, before retreating to her car. She set the pan on the floorboard and fired up the engine as she dug her phone out. Hitting speed dial, she started speaking the moment it was answered. "Victor, can we talk? I mean really talk."


	6. Chapter 6

**a/n - Last chapter. The site's been really strange for me the last few days, took almost an hour to get this uploaded. Maybe that's why the last chapter didn't get much of a reaction.**

* * *

"Smells good." Still amused by his lunchtime audience, Gibbs was ready for dinner the moment he walked through the door. He set his lunch dishes in the sink and leaned over Tim as he pulled the leg of lamb out of the oven. "We ready to eat?"

Tim set the dish on a towel and slapped Gibbs' hand away before covering the pan with foil and sliding a baking sheet of herb and cheese biscuits into the oven. "No, not yet. Make yourself useful and start a pot of coffee why don't you? The meat needs to rest for thirty minutes before we slice it."

From her perch at the island Tia giggled as she colored. Gibbs flashed her a grin before pulling down the coffee grounds. As the water started to drip through the grounds the headlights of a car flashed in the kitchen window as it pulled up to the curb. Tim looked up from what he was working on.

"If this is a third visit from Diane, I'm not promising to be civil."

"Third? She was back again today?" Gibbs shook his head as he looked closer. "Nah, it's Fornell and Emily. Probably apologizing – or hiding from her." He reached the door just as they knocked.

"Hey, Jethro, we won't stay long – just came by to thank McGee."

"Thank me? For what?"

Emily came up and impulsively hugged him. "I don't know what you said to her, but Mom and Victor left for a couple's retreat to work things out."

"Really?" When Tim told her to go home and work on her own problems, he never thought she'd actually do it.

Emily stepped back and Fornell wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Really, and that means I get a week with my little girl all to myself."

"Dad, I'm not a little girl anymore." The whine didn't make the men laugh, but it was close.

"Well, I'm glad it worked out then." Tim noticed that Fornell was raising up to try and look into the pan he was stirring. He glanced over at Gibbs who gave a soft snort before nodding ever so slightly. "Why don't you and Emily join us for dinner? There's plenty."

"Oh, we don't want to impose – well, if you're sure."

"Don't give yourself whiplash there, Tobias."

"Very funny, Jethro."

Tim put Emily to work tearing up the greens for a salad while he pulled down a few last items from the cabinet. There was plenty of food, but a dessert might be a good idea. "You and your dad like lemon bars?"

Emily grinned. "Love them, but Mom sucks at making them."

Gibbs snorted as he poured three coffees. "I don't think any of us married your mother for her prowess in the kitchen."

Emily was too distracted by what Tim was doing to even notice what Gibbs had said. "That's all you're mixing together? That's it?"

"Yep, quickest lemon bars you'll ever make." It had just taken a few minutes to mix together a package of angel food cake mix and a large can of lemon pie filling and now he was spreading it in a pan and Emily was writing down sizes, time and temperature.

While his daughter was distracted, Tobias sat next to Tia and leaned over to whisper to her. "So, how did Daddy get rid of the witch?"

Tia leaned close, enjoying the story. "He banished her."

"Yeah? With what?"

"Garlic."

"Garlic?" Fornell was quite amused as he looked over at Gibbs. "So, pee on her tires and surround her with garlic. Who knew it was that simple?"

Tia wasn't quite done yet. "And I showed her my picture."

She pulled out the drawing she'd shown to Diane earlier and explained the six people. Fornell looked over at Gibbs once again, but his friend seemed perfectly all right with Tia's story. Fornell, on the other hand, had to clear his throat twice before he could speak. "I'm sure that helped, too."

Tim had also been watching Gibbs' reaction. He'd planned on telling Gibbs about the drawing that night after Tia had gone to bed but he was rapidly learning how rarely things went according to plan when other people were involved. He took the biscuits out of the oven and replaced them with the lemon bars before finishing up the salad that Emily had started for him. Gibbs finally had permission to start carving the meat and a few minutes later Tim was dishing up the food.

Fornell watched as the two men worked together seamlessly, as if they'd been doing it for years. He knew that they'd worked together, but seeing them so comfortable in the kitchen together was something entirely differently. He was about to comment when he saw McGee ladle a spoonful of white creaminess onto the center of a plate. "Are those grits? Because my mother grew up in the deep South."

Emily had already snuck a taste. "They're better that Grandma's, Dad."

"Really?" That got his attention as Tim laid several slices of meat across the grits and drizzled some of the pan juices over the top. "Did you take notes?"

"Sure did."

McGee bit back a smile at the intensely curious look on Fornell's face. "Leg of lamb, marinated with rosemary and – garlic." He finally let the smile break through. "Tastes good and turns witches in polite humans all in one easy step."

Gibbs picked up the salad and the platter of biscuits, carrying them to the table before he sat at the head of the table. "Works for me, Tim. It works for me."

* * *

Next story in the series - _Snow Day_. A day of fun takes a potentially tragic turn.


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